THE official switch on of Mold's Christmas lights will take place on Tuesday at 6pm but the festivities will have started long before that.

The lower part of the High Street will be closed to traffic from noon to allow time for the setting up of the fun fair. Meanwhile, a marquee will be erected on the square outside the Daniel Owen Centre, off Earl Road, and charity stalls will be set up there and in the adjacent shopping precinct.

The fun fair is due to open at 4pm and at 4.10pm, a choir from Ysgol Bryn Coch will perform in the square, to be followed at 4.40pm by musicians from the Alun school. Mold Town Concert Band will take over from 5.30pm until 6.15pm.

Meanwhile, Father Christmas, accompanied by his attendants and two characters from this year's Clwyd Theatr Cymru pantomime, Aladdin - The Red Hot Wok 'n' Roll Panto, will set off by sleigh from the New Street Car Park and will parade down Chester Street, through the bus station and along King Street to the traffic lights.

There, they will be met by the local Brownies and escorted on foot down the High Street and through the shopping centre to the square where they are due to switch on the lights at 6pm.

The fun fair will remain in operation until 8pm and the High Street will reopen to traffic at 9pm.

The festive lights, which are funded by Mold Town Council, have been extended this year to include the square.